Iran criticized on Monday the court ruling against former President Hosni Mubarak and former Interior Ministry officials on charges of killing protesters during the 25 January uprising.
Yahia Rahim Safavi, senior military adviser to Ayatollah Sayyed Ali Khamenei, told the Al-Jazeera website that the verdict proves that the Egyptian revolution has not been completed, and that the US and Israel still have an influence on the country through the ruling military council.
On Saturday, a Cairo criminal court sentenced former president Hosni Mubarak and his interior minister Habib al-Adly to 25 years in prison on charges of complicity in the murder of pro-democracy protesters during the 2011 uprising that forced Mubarak to step down. The court also exonerated six former security officials on the same charges and acquitted Mubarak, his sons and fugitive businessman Hussein Salem of financial crimes.
Safavi told Al-Jazeera that Egyptians will make their final decision through the runoff in the presidential election, scheduled for 16 and 17 June, voicing confidence that Egyptians will make a choice that conforms to the essence of Islam and Egyptian hatred toward the Israeli occupation.
The Muslim Brotherhood’s Mohamed Morsy and former Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq will compete in the runoffs.
Relations between Iran and Egypt were strained when former President Anwar Sadat signed a peace treaty with Israel in 1979 and then hosted Iran’s ousted shah after its 1979 Islamic Revolution.
Under Mubarak, Egypt had accused Iran of destabilizing the Middle East by meddling in countries' internal affairs.
